Cedar Point To Build The World's Tallest Roller Coaster

Sandusky, OH -- Cedar Point amusement park/resort will take a quantum thrill-riding leap into the next century when it builds the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world for its 2000 season. Named Millennium Force, the goliath steel roller coaster will be the single largest investment in the 129-year history of Cedar Point, will be the park's 14th roller coaster -- more than anywhere else on Earth -- and will break an amazing 10 world records!

Millennium Force's statistics are staggering: with a monumental 310-foot-tall first hill at a 45-degree incline, speeds of 92 mph over 6,595 feet of track and a first drop of 300 feet at an extraordinary 80-degree angle, this mega-thriller will awe riders with its dynamic world-record-breaking dimensions. Termed a "giga-coaster" for its extreme height, Millennium Force will be the first and only roller coaster in the world to break the 300-foot-tall barrier.

"We want to enter into the next century with the 'knock-your-socks-off ' roller coaster of the millennium," says Don Miears, executive vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. "Millennium Force will introduce the world to a whole new level of roller-coaster-riding, while reinforcing Cedar Point's strong commitment to being the foremost thrill ride park in the world."

Millennium Force will shatter 10 world records: 1.) tallest roller coaster at 310 feet; 2.) fastest roller coaster at 92 mph; 3.) longest drop on a roller coaster at 300 feet; 4.) the most roller coasters anywhere in the world with an astonishing 14 at Cedar Point; 5.) the most rides anywhere in the world with 68 at Cedar Point; 6.) first roller coaster to break the 300-foot-tall threshold; 7.) most steel roller coasters anywhere in the world with 12 at Cedar Point; 8.) more roller coaster track than anywhere else in the world with 44,013 feet; 9.) first roller coaster to use an elevator lift cable system; and 10.) steepest non-inversion banked turn on a roller coaster at 122 degrees.

Millennium Force will use prototype roller coaster technology with a newly designed elevator cable system to carry the coaster trains up the towering lift hill versus a traditional lift chain. This will be the first time a roller coaster has incorporated an elevator cable system, which will provide a quicker and smoother ride up Millennium Force's 310-foot-tall lift hill.

The new coaster will also have several newfangled concepts: the stainless steel trains on Millennium Force will use the latest design in roller-coaster-seating where the second row of seats are tiered above the first row on each of the nine cars on the coaster's trains to offer an unobstructed view for riders (similar to cinema seating); and the braking system will utilize unique "magnetic" brakes rather than the typical "friction" brakes present on all but a handful of roller coasters in the world.

Millennium Force will challenge riders to a 2-minute, 45-second rampage over the rails that begins with a 310-foot-high lift hill, followed by a 300-foot drop at 92 mph. Riders will then encounter a 169-foot-tall turn that overbanks (extremely banked, but not quite inverted) at a dramatic 122-degree angle, dive into a tunnel, cross a lagoon, scale a hill that stands 182 feet tall and plunge onto a small wooded island. On the island, the coaster will race into an 87-foot-high turn, zoom into a curve 100 feet in the air at an overbanked 122-degree angle and then travel back across the lagoon and through a second tunnel. After emerging from the tunnel, riders will experience "air-time" before flying into a final 68-foot-tall overbanked turn and then return to the
station.

Located in the center of the park along Frontier Trail, Millennium Force's expansive layout will cover 13 acres. The Giant Wheel will be relocated adjacent to the Disaster Transport roller coaster to make room for the mammoth Millennium Force. A two-tone futuristic structure, blending a brilliant blue track with sleek silver framework and three trains displaying the primary colors of red, blue and yellow, will dominate the Cedar Point skyline. The three 36-passenger trains will allow for a capacity of approximately 1,600 riders an hour.

Millennium Force will be the seventh world-record-breaking ride Cedar Point has introduced since debuting the world-class No. 1-rated Magnum XL-200 steel roller coaster in 1989. Plus, it will be the seventh roller coaster the park has added during this same time period.

"Our philosophy of reinvestment continues with the stunning addition of Millennium Force," comments Richard L. Kinzel, president and CEO of Cedar Fair, L. P., which owns and operates Cedar Point and four other amusement parks. "This clearly represents the largest project that our company has ever been involved with, and I can't imagine a more exciting time than the new millennium to kick off such a blockbuster roller coaster!"

The internationally acclaimed roller coaster engineering and manufacturing firm, Intamin of Wollerau, Switzerland, and Cedar Point's Planning and Design Department, teamed up to create the layout of Millennium Force.

Roller coaster enthusiasts around the globe will soon be buzzing about Millennium Force and its impact on the coaster community. "Talk about roller coaster bliss," quips Bill Linkenheimer, president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), a worldwide organization of roller coaster buffs with 5,800 members in 49 states and 17 countries. "Cedar Point is well-known the world over for setting the highest standard in thrill rides. Millennium Force will raise the thrill-factor bar for roller coaster enthusiasts everywhere seeking the ultimate scream machine."

Construction of Millennium Force is currently under way and will continue throughout the winter. Guests will be able to take their first ride on this "giga-coaster" when Cedar Point opens for the 2000 season in May.

Related Stories:
Millennium Force's Statistics Are Staggering - July 22, 1999

Millennium Force logo and drawings courtesy of Cedar Point. All Rights Reserved.